Single Use Branding

Generally, a company can identify their need for a website, online presence, or a unique challenge they need help to solve without too much trouble. However, sometimes they will fail to
recognize an important process that should take place beforehand.

Branding.

If your company doesn’t put effort into a healthy branding process they will likely end up with what we call single use branding. This is what happens when you skip the in-depth branding process of creating a logo, color scheme, slogan, common language, and so much more. Instead, going straight to the website, blog, and social media creation phase, you only develop branding to support that single purpose. While we understand there are reasons this option can appear attractive, such as getting started earlier rather than later, low startup costs, etc… We definitely advise against taking this option whenever possible.

But what is single-use branding?

Single-use branding is where we need to quickly assess many of the branding steps in order to piece together a result that the customer and designer are satisfied with. All while meeting the
requirements your website needs to function properly as a tool for your business, visitors, clients, and patrons. The design phase can be a complicated and time-consuming process in
itself. Not having the well defined and cohesive branding parts already ironed out adds an additional layer of complexity to the overall design. The single-use branding that generally
comes out of this experience is a rushed and flawed version of what could be.

Is single-use branding ever an option?

Are you having a one-time event? Are you still ironing out your business model and testing the market? Are you an entrepreneur with a tight budget? If the answer to these questions is ‘Yes,’ then spending the extra time and budget to properly brand yourself, your event or your business may not be necessary at this phase. However, I would urge you to consider all options before
launching into a design phase without at least important conversation between you and your stakeholders about the impact of branding right the first time.

What if I’ve already created a website and don’t have branding in place?

In this scenario, I suggest having a conversation with your team and a trusted advisor about the pros and cons associated with your company’s lack of branding and start implementing a
thoughtful approach to what your branding may look, feel, and sound like. Take this information with you when speaking to a branding expert.

Do I need a branding overhaul?

Here are some questions to ask yourself when considering a rebrand:

Is your branding over five years old?

Does your message still apply to your target market?

Does your brand have the right feel for your type of business?

Are all your branding efforts cohesive? Do they work together?

There are a number of other questions to answer, but the main thing to remember is this: when
in doubt consult a specialist and get their opinion.